


Research, Duets, and Afternoon Tea

by rhetoricalrogue



Category: The Wayhaven Chronicles (Interactive Fiction)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Non-Linear Narrative, One Shot Collection, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Snippets
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:42:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25785343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rhetoricalrogue/pseuds/rhetoricalrogue
Summary: Collection of Nate Sewell/Rowena Kingston one-shots
Relationships: Female Detective/Nathaniel "Nate" Sewell
Comments: 14
Kudos: 21





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Wayhaven Week 2020 fandom event's "dawn" prompt. A quiet evening in leads to a pleasant morning. Established relationship, post-Book 2.

Morning sunlight filtered in through Rowena’s apartment window. Careful not to disturb her, Nate slowly stretched, wincing at the kink in his neck. Rubbing a hand over his face, he recalled how the night had ended, the two of them curled up on Rowena’s oversized sofa, her head on his shoulder as he read aloud from a book of eighteenth century poetry. The long workday had finally caught up with her, his voice lulling her to sleep. Unwilling to move and wake her from a much-needed rest, Nate had been content to read where he was and apparently drifted off himself.

He glanced down to find his book discarded on the floor. From his vantage point at the sofa, he could see that a few pages were distressingly crinkled from where it had fallen from his slack fingers.

Then he looked at Rowena, her face tucked into the curve of his neck and her hand curled against the collar of his sweater. Suddenly the state of his book didn’t matter much to him.

His thoughts turned to the night before again: as what had become his normal routine, he’d stopped by the police station at the end of his patrol and instead of heading straight to her apartment like she normally did every evening, Rowena invited him to accompany her to get groceries. It was only when they were in the middle of the pasta aisle that she haltingly asked if he would like to come over for a home-cooked dinner, her cheeks picking up an endearingly rosy tint as she nervously pushed her hair behind her ear.

Seeing as Nate always wanted to spend more time with her, it had been easy to accept her invitation. He surprised her once they reached her apartment by rolling up his sleeves and helping to not only put groceries away, but to cook dinner as well. The two of them in her tiny kitchen had been a bit cramped, but it was the _good_ sort of cramped that meant he had all the excuses in the world to put his hand at her waist as he moved around her or for her to lean against his shoulder as they prepped dinner.

And okay, so they had managed to burn the tetrazzini casserole they'd made because they had been too caught up in the other to notice something was wrong until the smoke alarm let them know their food was ruined, but the smoldering remains Nate had scraped into the apartment's dumpster outside and the pizza they had ordered instead were bound to be an in-joke between them. Rowena had laughed and stated that at least the pepperoni had paired well with the wine he’d poured for them earlier.

The candlelit dinner conversation had turned towards their favorite books, which led to Rowena jumping up and retrieving the book of poetry that he had loaned her - well, she _thought_ it was a loan, but he fully intended to gift it to her after she went on about how much she enjoyed reading it - which had in turn led to them retiring to the sofa to take turns reading their favorite poems, where they still were.

Things had been so busy lately with the events of the carnival and the peace treaty talks afterwards that getting a spare moment together had all but been impossible. Last night’s date and waking up to the sunrise with Rowena sleeping peacefully in his arms felt like a gift. He watched as the pale light slowly grew brighter until Rowena stirred, yawning as she stretched out against his body.

“Nate?”

“Good morning,” he said, dipping his head down to press a kiss to her forehead. He smiled against her hair when she made soft half-awake noises and snuggled closer to him, her hand going from his sweater collar to gently cup the side of his face, her fingers rasping against his stubble. 

“Mmm, what time is it?”

“It’s still early, probably a little bit before six-thirty.” He moved so she could sit up and his heart flipped in his chest at the sight of her, hair rumpled and eyes still soft from sleep. It was a sight that he could easily see himself getting used to.

She caught him staring and playfully gave his shoulder a nudge with her hand. “Ugh, stop. I probably have bed head.”

He laughed. “And yet you still look as lovely as ever.” Reaching out, Nate smoothed a wave of dark brown hair from her face and gently tucked it behind her ear. “Adorable, even.”

She laughed with him, leaning over and doing the same to him. “At least I’m not the only one with morning hair.”

He circled her wrist with his hand, his thumb running across the back of her hand as she gave his head a pat. He could feel the usually kempt waves bounce up in response. “Give me ten minutes, a hot shower, and a comb. I’ll wrangle things into some semblance of order.”

The look she gave him was far too steamy for such an early morning hour. “Well,” she drawled, scooting over the sofa cushions so close that there was hardly any space between them. “I know where there’s a shower nearby, but I don’t think that ten minutes is going to cut it.” She sighed. “And unfortunately with both of us being so tall, I don’t think we’d both fit.”

He leaned closer. “Oh, dear heart, I very much think we could find a way.” He grinned as he felt her pulse skip as he skimmed his lips against her jaw before gently nipping at her earlobe. “Necessity is the mother of invention after all, and I have a rather vivid imagination.”

“That you do. It’s one of the things I like so much about you.” Her voice was breathy as he crowded her on the sofa, his hand resting at her hip and fingers softly tracing the strip of bared skin as her shirt rode up.

“I knew you liked me for my big…” he paused to kiss his way up to her mouth. “ _Brain_.”

The part sigh, part moan she gave against his lips made him break out in goosebumps. “Among other things,” she murmured, moving so her knee was pressed against his side. “I also like the little dimple you get when you smile.”

“Then I’ll make sure to smile as often as I can.” He gave her one last searing kiss before moving, even if the disappointed sound Rowena made had him instantly regretting it. “Now, how about I leave and come back in a half hour? We could walk to the bakery for breakfast, my treat.”

“A morning date, right on the heels of a dinner date? Nate, didn’t you know you’re supposed to wait at least a few days in between?” She was joking and he knew it, but it didn’t stop him from leaning over to take hold of her hand and press a kiss to her knuckles.

“You’ll have to forgive me for breaking etiquette. I find it difficult to spend more than a few hours away from you, and even when we’re apart, you’re still at the forefront of my mind.”

“Oh.” She blushed. “Oh, that was _smooth_ , Agent Sewell.”

“I’m only speaking honestly, Detective Kingston.” He winked. “Come on, lock up after me. The sooner I leave, the sooner we can find ourselves at a nice window table with tea and those orange muffins Haley makes for breakfast.”

“See you in a few,” she said, leaning against the doorframe.

Just because he could, he bent down to press a soft, sweet kiss to her lips, smiling as she rose on her toes to meet him halfway. “I’ll be back shortly,” he promised, affectionately rubbing her nose with his. 

Rowena gave a small frown. “Are you sure I can’t just drive over to the Warehouse to pick you up? Are there usually agents around to drive you back?”

He smiled before winking at her. “My dear, you forget that I’m quicker on my own two legs than most cars. It’s one of the few perks of being…well, being me.” 

“And just so you know, I like all of you just as is, perks and all.”

The look she gave him was enough to warm him from the inside out, despite the cooler morning temperatures. “Well, then,” he murmured. “I’ll be off, or else I’ll never leave.” With one last wave, he jogged down the stairs and out of her apartment building. His heart grew light as he saw Rowena push back her bedroom curtains in time to wave at him again before making his way back towards the Warehouse at superhuman speed. He was certain that once he got back home that he’d be subjected to all manner of teasing from both Morgan and Farah for being out all night, but it was worth it just to see Rowena beam at him in the morning light.

There was a patch of wildflowers on his route, the blooms bright even in the slight morning fog. He made a mental note to pick some for her on his way back.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written for the Wayhaven Week 2020 fandom event's "abyss" prompt. The Warehouse's gardens are perfect for stargazing.

It was becoming a welcome routine to find Rowena at the Warehouse in her off hours, especially when there wasn’t Agency work to focus on and the entire team could merely relax in the others’ company. It wasn’t unusual for her to find him in the library or for him to be drawn away from his books by the sound of her playing on the piano in one of the parlors.

It was a cozy routine, and one that Nate was eager to keep up.

Yet it wasn’t her snuggling in on one of the leather sofas or the soft sound of music that led him to her, but more the not-so-quiet crash of something falling in one of the hall closets.

“Problems, Detective?” He opened the slightly ajar closet door more to find Rowena struggling to keep a large pile of spare blankets upright. 

“Thanks,” she said, smiling as he took them from her. “I was trying to snag one of these, but the rest decided they needed to come with too.”

Nate stood aside so she could shuffle out of the closet. “What did you need them for? Farah finally talk you into that blanket fort idea she mentioned earlier?”

She laughed as she took the top blanket from the stack in his arms. “No. In that case, I would have needed _all_ of those, and maybe some extras swiped from everyone else’s rooms. You can’t make a proper blanket fort with just one, Nate.”

He grinned, reaching up to put the rest neatly back on the closet’s top shelf where they belonged. “Forgive me, Rowena. I am but a lowly scholar who knows nothing of blanket fort architecture.”

Her eyes went soft as she stood on her tiptoes to press a kiss to his cheek. “Agent Sewell, that will _not_ do. Luckily, I did some reconnaissance and there’s a secluded spot in your library that’s perfect for a two-person structure.” She leaned against him and winked. “I can be persuaded to teach you.”

“Well then,” he told her, reaching out to hold onto one of her hands. “I’ll have to take you up on that offer. As you know, I _am_ a fan of lifelong learning. Perhaps in trade, I can teach you a thing or two once we’re safely ensconced from prying eyes.”

It was a delight to watch Rowena’s cheeks flush an alluring shade of pink and know that she fully accepted his advances. It made his heart swell as he felt her pulse skip a beat underneath his fingers. “However, I believe you had a mission of your own?”

“What?” She shook her head to clear the pleasant fog Nate’s flirting always seemed to put her in. “Oh, that’s right. Would you like to come outside with me? I was going to find you earlier, but the blanket avalanche brought you to me instead.”

The two of them made their way out onto a small garden area behind the Warehouse that Nate had purposely requested as a place for him to read outdoors, although Morgan had commandeered it as of late. He eyed the overflowing ashtray sitting on the stone bench and made a mental note to ask her to empty it the next time she was outside.

“Tonight’s one of the clearest nights you can see a comet,” Rowena explained, shaking out the blanket and spreading it onto the ground. Once satisfied, she sat down, folding her long legs under her and bracing her weight onto her hands. “I looked around online and got the heading, so we should be able to see it from here once it’s a little later in the evening.”

He took a seat next to her. “I didn’t know you were a fan of astronomy.”

“Well, nothing serious. Stars are pretty, and it’s always interested me how people from so many different cultures around the world could look at the same sky and find different shapes to guide them on their journeys.” She squinted, eyes scanning the dark abyss overhead. “I think that’s the little dipper?”

Nate leaned closer to her until their shoulders touched. “I do believe you’re correct. And over there, you can see Ursa Major.” He looked at her. “What?”

Rowena leaned against his shoulder, the smile she had on her face starting to make her cheeks hurt. “Nothing. I haven’t gone stargazing in forever, though I used to do it almost every night as a child.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. When Mom was away on missions, an older man would always take care of me. His name was Mister Yellen, but he always asked that I call him dedushka, or grandfather. He was kind, and it never failed that he knew when I had a bad day at school or was sad.” She laughed. “He made the _best_ chocolate chip cookies and tried his best to know at least surface level knowledge of anything I was interested in so he could ask me questions and be involved. I wonder if he was ever an Agency employee, or what happened to him once I was old enough where I didn’t need someone to care for me when Mom was gone.”

Nate leaned back so he was reclining on his elbow. “It wouldn’t surprise me if he was still around. Agents who have families often employ the services of household spirits who are protective of children or whose principal duties deal with raising them, and from what you’re describing, Mister Yellen could have very well been one of those.”

“I hope he is. He was wonderful and other children deserve to have him in their lives.” She pointed up to a cluster of stars. “Every night, after I had finished my homework and before it was bedtime, he would look out my window with me and we’d try to find as many constellations as we could. Some nights, we’d be silly and make up our own. See that one right there? The few that look like a box if you connect them?”

“I think so, yes.”

“That’s Rowena’s Piano. When there’s a meteor shower, the meteors fall on the keys and make the prettiest music.” She giggled as her voice took on a quiet, yet distinct Russian accent. She flopped onto her back and turned her head to look at Nate. “We’d make up stuff like that, and every night we would find a new constellation to name.”

“I think that’s wonderful.”

“Yeah, it really was.” She sighed wistfully and turned her attention back towards the sky. “Look, it’s Farah’s Hat.”

Nate laughed, following her finger as she pointed towards a trio of stars. “And right next to it is Morgan’s Cigarettes.”

“Oooh, good one! Let’s see…that one looks like Adam.”

He moved so he was flat on his back, mirroring her position. “Rowena, that’s Orion’s Belt.” 

She shrugged. “Yeah, but it still looks like him.”

He couldn’t argue with that logic. “And what about me? Where am I in your stars?”

Rowena bit her lip and shook her head. “I don’t know, Nate. I don’t like the idea of you being so far away; I like you where you are.”

He rolled back onto his elbow. “I like where I am too,” he murmured, reaching out and threading his fingers through her hair. Kissing her was as easy as breathing, and Nate enjoyed the way she ran her hands over his sides before anchoring them to his back to pull him closer to her.

Content in the other’s arms, they forgot all about looking for comets.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written for the Wayhaven Week 2020 fandom event's "daydream" prompt. Boring conference calls bring out the best sort of distractions.

People who decided to hold meetings where a single email chain would do were the absolute worst, Rowena thought, trying not to sigh loud enough for the speakerphone to pick up. At least the mayor had decided on a conference call, and it did make her feel better knowing that Tina was with her in her office, if only for her to have someone to roll her eyes and make funny expressions at.

It really wasn’t all that professional, but the mayor had been droning on for the past hour and a half, so she decided to cut herself some slack. 

_He loves the sound of his own voice, doesn’t he?_ Tina grinned at her as she scribbled on the margins of Rowena’s notepad where she was attempting to take some halfhearted notes.

“Tina,” she whispered. “Pay attention.”

“Spoilsport.”

Rowena shook her head and took a sip of her tea, listening as the mayor and Captain Sung went over security details for the upcoming spring festival for at least the fifth time. Going over her notes, she absently started to scribble squares in the margins of her paper, boxing in Tina’s note several times to emphasize Tina’s statement, especially when it was obvious that on his end of the conference call the captain was starting to lose patience yet was trying his hardest to be diplomatic.

“Detective Kingston, perhaps the Agency wouldn’t mind loaning out an agent or two to assist?”

She sat straighter at the Captain’s suggestion. He’d made it clear to her that while she was the liaison to the Agency, the well-being of the citizens of Wayhaven were her first priority. To have him suggest that the Agency help out was a first. “I could suggest it to Agent Kingston, but I’m not quite sure to what extent we can -”

Mayor Friedman interrupted her before she could finish. “Excellent!” There was a sound of him slapping his hand on his desk. “I’m sure that Rebecca would loan out her team for the evening!”

Tina raised her eyebrows and leaned her elbows on Rowena’s desk. “With all due respect, Mayor,” Rowena began, attempting to tamp down the irritation at his overly familiar use of her mother’s name, “but just as my priorities lie first and foremost to Wayhaven, the Agency is _Agent Kingston’s_ priority. I cannot in good conscience volunteer them without asking.”

That seemed to take the wind out of the mayor’s sails, at least temporarily. “Very well,” he grumbled. “However, it would help cover some of the gaps we have in securing the main square.”

Rowena looked at the map of the town she had printed out before the meeting. Wayhaven wasn’t that large, and it wasn’t as if she and Tina, back when Rowena was a patrol officer, hadn’t covered the same area satisfactorily. This year they had even managed to get more of a medical presence since the fire department had another paramedic on their roster.

She took another sip of her tea. No wonder Detective Reele had resorted to day drinking.

“I think at least one or two agents would be nice to have around,” Tina stated, causing Rowena to glare at her.

_Traitor!_ Rowena wrote on her notepad, bolding the statement with several underline marks. Tina stuck her tongue out at her in reply.

“As I said, I can ask, but I can’t promise anything.”

“It would be helpful,” Captain Sung told her, his voice softly supportive over the speaker. “Yet I would understand if they were unable to help; we’ve done this festival with far fewer staff in previous years, we’ll be fine with the numbers we have.”

The conversation then turned more towards the specifics of patrol routes again, and seeing as it was something that they had gone over before, Rowena let her mind wander, more squares dotting her notepad as she thought how to broach the topic of borrowing one or two agents from Unit Bravo with her mother.

Of course, _that_ thought made her think of Nate, and how nice it would be to have an evening with him, even if the two of them were on duty. She knew without a doubt that he would say yes if she asked him, and that was one of the reasons she was hesitant to ask. She didn’t want him to feel as if he had to do something for her just because she asked him to, or to feel bad if Unit Bravo’s schedule didn’t allow for him to do what she asked.

But still…the Spring Festival was one of Wayhaven’s annual events. The idea of strolling downtown amid all the food and craft vendors, music wafting through the air with Nate made Rowena’s heart flip. The town square was traditionally set aside as a dance floor, the live band at the gazebo in the middle. All around the area, paper lanterns were hung in the trees and strung up on poles, lending the area what Rowena had always felt was an incredibly soft, romantic atmosphere. 

She’d never taken a date to the festival. Part of her wondered if Nate knew how to dance, which made her all but feel his hands on her, holding her close to him as they slowly swayed to whatever music was playing. It would be easy to lose herself to the depths of his eyes as everything else around them blended into background noise. She let her eyes close, imagining for a brief moment the gentle yet firm way his lips would press against hers, his arms holding her closer until there wasn’t any room between them.

“Rowena…” She sighed at the soft way he said her name, but frowned when Nate snapped his fingers in front of her face. Blinking, she sat upright. Tina looked at her with a toothy smile on her face.

“Sorry, Mayor,” she said, leaning across the desk to be better heard by the speaker. “We had a little technical difficulty on our end. Rowena said that she would be perfectly happy patrolling for the first shift.”

“Sorry,” Rowena silently mouthed, looking at her old partner guiltily.

“You owe me,” Tina mouthed back, looking pointedly at Rowena’s notepad. Where Rowena had been scribbling bold boxes and squares, soft hearts had taken over most of the page. Rowena flipped the paper over to a blank page and reached for her mug to finish drinking the contents. 

The phone call finished soon after, most of the details ironed out to the mayor’s satisfaction. Rowena went over her notes and realized in frustration that they were mostly the same thing, just said different ways. 

“Totally could have been an email,” Tina said, stretching in the guest chair on the other side of Rowena’s desk. “I had paperwork that I could have been doing.”

Rowena eyed the pile of paperwork that was stacked neatly in her inbox. “Me too.”

“Though seeing you zone out and daydream was worth it.”

She ran her hand over her face. “Ugh, at least it was you catching me instead of anyone. Thanks for the save, by the way.”

“Of course! What are friends for?” Tina stood up and stretched. “Besides, I volunteered you to take the first shift for a reason: you get done early and have the rest of the night to hang out with that tall drink of water agent of yours.”

That earned a blush that Rowena felt all the way to the tips of her ears. “He isn’t _my_ agent,” she stammered, grabbing her mug and marching into the staff break room to wash it out.

“ _Sure_ he isn’t, Miss Fill My Notepad with Hearts While Sighing Dreamily.” Tina crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the doorframe. “Pull my other leg while you’re at it.”

Rowena opened her mouth to argue, but Tina held up a hand. “Hey, I’m happy for you, you know that, right? With all the weird stuff that’s happened this year, you deserve a little bit of happiness.” Her smile turned into a smirk. “Besides, I’ve seen the way Nate looks at you, I don’t think he’d argue if someone called you his detective.”

She couldn’t help the soft smile as she wiped her mug dry with a paper towel and put it back in its place in the mug tree on the countertop with everyone else’s mugs. “It’s just really early, Tina,” Rowena said, wiping up the counter with the paper towel in her hand before balling it up and tossing it into the trash. “I don’t want to presume anything, just have fun with whatever this is.”

“Okay, but I’ve read enough romance novels to know that this is the Forever type of thing, if you want it to be.”

“We’ll see.” Rowena stretched her arms over her head, listening as her back popped from sitting for so long. “It’s about time to call it a day, I’m leaving early.”

“After this afternoon, I think we can _both_ comp our time.”

“You said it. See you tomorrow?”

“With bells on!”

Rowena went back into her office to shut her computer off and grab her messenger bag. The day had been pleasant enough to skip driving to work in favor of a nice morning stroll. She eyed the wadded up paper bag in her trash can as she flipped off her light - it didn’t hurt that her morning walk to the office went directly past Haley’s bakery for one of her cherry turnovers and cup of lavender earl grey latte. Come to think of it, something sweet later on in the evening after some piano practice didn’t sound all too bad. Slipping her messenger bag over her head to sit across her chest, she started off towards the bakery, humming a cheerful tune.

And that was where she bumped into Nate, two to-go cups in his hands and a waxed paper bag hanging precariously in his grasp.

“Now this is a pleasant surprise,” she told him, smiling to match the one that lit up his face when he spotted her. “Do you need a hand?”

“That would be appreciated, thank you.” He handed her one of the cups to hold onto as well as the bag, which she put in her messenger bag for safekeeping. “I was hoping to catch you after work, but it seems as if you beat me to it.” 

“I just got out of a long, tiresome conference call and decided that was all I could take for the day before my brain turned into mush.” She let the warmth of the paper cup sink into her fingers. “Someone ask you to make a coffee run?”

His smile softened and he looked down at her. “Actually, that was for you. Something told me that you may need a little after work pick-me-up, and it was an excuse to come see you. Your favorite tea and some cherry tarts. Haley was out of turnovers, but I figured these would suffice.”

She took a sip, enjoying the lavender flavor wash over her tongue as she wrapped her free arm around his waist for a hug. “Nate, you’re the _best_ boyfriend ever.”

They both paused at her declaration, Rowena stiffening and making a move to scoot away. “Sorry, that just sort of slipped out,” she babbled. “I know this is still new and it’s too early to -” She didn’t get to finish her sentence before Nate leaned down and kissed her. Rowena slipped her arm from around his waist to grab a handful of his jacket and pull herself closer.

“Don’t be sorry,” he breathed, pressing another light kiss to her lips. “I like hearing you call me that.”

She smiled against his mouth. “What? My boyfriend?” 

He nudged his nose affectionately with hers. “Yes. I like it very much.”

“Then I’ll have to remember to call you that as often as possible.” She leaned against him, happily sighing and putting her hand on his gentlemanly offered arm as they continued on their way back to her apartment. “Although I’m a little angry with you right now.”

He caught her teasing tone. “Oh? And what misdeeds did I do to gain your ire?”

“I was in the middle of that awful call and I got caught daydreaming.”

Nate laughed. “And that’s _my_ fault?”

She nodded. “It is when I was daydreaming about you. You’re extremely distracting, I hope you know.”

He tugged her closer and took a sip from his own cup of tea. “I do apologize, Rowena.” Then he smirked. “Was it a pleasant diversion at least?”

Rowena glanced up at him and saw that his eyes had darkened and he was looking at her in such a way that made her wish they would hurry up and get back to her place. “It might have been, had Tina not gotten my attention back on the call.”

“Well, we can’t have that.” He winked at her and Rowena felt another blush rise up from her neck to her cheeks. “Though, perhaps now that you have me in the flesh, you’d like to pick up where you left off?”

She cleared her suddenly dry throat and gave him her best version of the bedroom eyes he so often gave her. By the way his breath hitched and the nearly inaudible groan he let out, she had to say she was successful. “Absolutely.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Slight end of Book 2 spoilers. The morning after the fight with the Trappers finds Rowena looking over a certain agent's bedside.

_ “Stay with me? I’ll sleep better with you here.” _ Rowena settled more comfortably at Nate’s side, watching him as he slept. Even with the bandages and bruises, she couldn’t tear her eyes away from him, wondering just how someone could have become so dear to her in such a short amount of time.

She ran her thumb across his knuckles. “As if I wanted to be anywhere else.” The slight creak at the door behind her took Rowena’s attention away from Nate’s sleeping face and she turned to see who was there. Something told her when she saw Adam open it fully that he had done so deliberately so she wouldn’t be startled by his sudden appearance.

“I thought you might need this,” Adam explained, carrying in a comfortable looking chair as easily as if he were carting around a metal folding one. “How is he?”

“Thank you.” She carefully rose from her seat on the bed and pulled the chair closer to Nate’s side. “He seems to be doing better. The sedative is letting him rest, at least.”

He took a breath and looked relieved. “That’s good. We heal just fine while awake, but sleep tends to boost our abilities.” Adam stood on the other side of Nate’s bed and watched as Rowena took Nate’s hand again, her fingers loosely curling over his slack ones. “He was lucky. It could have been far worse.”

She frowned. “He wouldn’t have been in this state if I had saved him instead of Sanja.”

Adam crossed his arms over his chest. “No, but Sanja would have been dead.” He gave her a pointed look. “And combat isn’t your area of expertise; it very easily could have been you in Nate’s place.”

Her lips thinned out into a line. “Then I guess I’m going to have to work on fixing that. Do you have any time free to give me some pointers?”

The stiff lines of his shoulders softened a fraction of an inch and his frown turned into a thoughtful expression. “I can make some time tomorrow, if your schedule is open. It’s admirable that you would want to improve to keep him safe.”

She shook her head. “Not just Nate, though that’s a big part of the reason why I asked. I don’t like feeling like the weak link in a team. I’m already at a disadvantage because I’m human, I can’t sit here and let any one of you take the hits intended for me.”

“Thank you, Rowena. I appreciate you saying that.”

She cracked a small smile. “And I appreciate you using my first name instead of my title.”

“Well, when it’s obvious you care about us, I couldn’t help it.” He looked down at Nate. Under the slowly fading bruises and cuts, Adam could see his friend’s eyes moving in slumber. “Especially when there’s a member of our unit who cares as deeply about you as he does.”

Her breath caught in her throat and she had to swallow around the sudden lump that had lodged itself there. “So, is this the part where you ask what my intentions towards your friend are?”

Adam quirked an eyebrow and snorted. “Your intentions towards him are none of my business.” He folded his arms in front of his chest. “Though I’m assuming that they’re honorable?”

Rowena shifted so she could look him in the eye. “They’ve always been. I know you don’t approve of it, but I do care a great deal about Nate. I don’t know what this is just yet, but I’m not treating whatever we have between us lightly.”

His shoulders relaxed and Rowena all but saw his jaw unclench. “Good. Nate is a longtime friend of mine. It doesn’t matter what my feelings are; his happiness is what matters the most to me.”

Her fingers tightened over Nate’s. “That’s what matters most to me too.” She bit at her lip. “I haven’t ever felt this way about anyone before. He hasn’t been exactly subtle with his interest in me, so if he wants to, then I’m more than willing to see what develops.”

Adam smiled and gave a soft huff of laughter. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about there.” Moving away from the bedside, he turned at the bedroom door. “Watch over him, Rowena. Something tells me that with you here, he’ll rest well.”

Rowena watched as Adam quietly closed the door, the latch catching soundlessly. She gave Nate her full attention, reaching out until she could gently brush her fingertips across his forehead to move some hair away from his eyes. Nate made a tiny noise at the barest hint of a touch, his face turning slightly towards her fingers. “Sleep,” she whispered, her thumb carefully brushing against his bottom lip, mindful of the healing split at the corner of his mouth. “I’ll be here when you wake up.”

* * *

Nate slowly woke to the feeling of sunlight on his face. He winced, feeling all the aches and pains from the night before make themselves clearly known. It took him a while to reconstruct the events from the night before, his mind sluggish and mouth cottony-dry as an aftereffect of whatever sedative Dr. Tuft had given him so he could rest. Slowly, he remembered the fight with the Trappers, Sanja being taken to safety, Rowena…

Rowena. He felt a weight close to his elbow and turned to look, finding her asleep, half sitting in a chair someone must have brought in for her and half slumped over the mattress, one hand loosely holding onto his and her other arm pillowing her head. Her hair had fallen out of the braid she had put it in earlier and it spilled across his arm, the silken weight of it sending goosebumps across his skin. Ever so carefully, he reached over with his other hand and brushed her hair aside, marveling at the texture.

The move made her twitch in her sleep and he watched as she pursed her lips, dark eyelashes fanning over her cheekbones. Not for the first time, he had the thought of just how beautiful she was, even if there was a smudge of dirt across her chin and a slightly bruised patch of skin at her cheek where one of the Trappers had gotten in a lucky punch.

“Nate?” Rowena’s eyes fluttered open and he smiled at her as she focused on him. “Are you okay?”

“How could I not when I woke up with you next to me?” His smile broadened as he watched a faint tinge of pink color her cheeks.

“Can I get you anything? Some water? The doctor to take a look at you?”  _ A kiss to get better quicker? _ She may have thought it, but in the moment she couldn’t quite get herself to voice the option.

“Water would be nice. My mouth feels like someone stuffed cotton in it.”

“Don’t look at me,” she said, getting up from her seat and going to his dresser where someone had set out a tray with a pitcher of water and a glass atop it. “I made sure no pranks were pulled while you were asleep.” She set the glass on top of his nightstand and helped him sit up better, reaching over and plumping the mound of pillows behind him.

“You stayed.”

She helped him take a sip, her fingers carding through his hair. “You asked me to.” Once he was done drinking, she gestured to the pitcher again, but he shook his head no. “You look better,” she told him, moving to sit again at the chair nearby.

Nate reached over and gently held onto her wrist, wordlessly asking her to stay where she was beside him. “I feel better. I don’t know about  _ looking _ better.” 

She laughed. “That was a flimsy excuse to fish for compliments, Nate.”

“I had to try.” He gave her a wink. “Did it work?”

Rowena didn’t answer him, but she did sober. “I just wish that you wouldn’t have had to go through this in the first place.”

He reached out, his hand cupping her cheek. “I thought we went over this last night, Rowena. Don’t blame yourself, you did nothing wrong. In fact, you did everything right: we wouldn’t have found their hideout as carefully as we did had you not been with us and I highly doubt that Sanja would still be alive without your help.”

“Still, you…”

“That’s on me, dear heart. Not you.”

She turned her head so that she could press a kiss into his palm, butterflies taking flight in her stomach at the easily expressed endearment. “I guess we could call it even then; you got to haul me unconscious from one mission and I got to do the same for you.”

His fingers tangled in her hair. “Let’s not keep count of those, okay?

She took a breath. “Okay.” Leaning over, she ran her fingers across his cheek. “You  _ do _ look better, by the way.”

He winked at her, his hand sliding down to settle against her neck. “Still roguishly handsome?”

“Nate, a few bruises and a black eye aren’t going to take that away from you.” She hissed when his hand moved lower, his palm cupping her shoulder. 

Nate jerked his hand away. “Are you okay?”

She nodded. “It’s nothing, just a little burn from where that damn cattle prod got me last night.” She shuddered, remembering just how much it had hurt and how numb her arm had been afterwards. It had taken forever to get feeling back in it.

He frowned, noticing the burnt hole in her sweater and the reddened patch of skin peeking out from underneath. He hooked his fingers into the neckline of the garment to carefully pull it aside so he could assess the damage himself. “Rowena, this is a burn mark, maybe even a second degree one. You should have gotten this taken care of as soon as you got to the Warehouse.”

“It’s not  _ that  _ bad, Nate. I’ve had curling iron burns worse than this before. Besides,” she dipped her shoulder to free herself from his hands and pulled her sweater back in place. “I was too worried about you to even notice it.”

His frown didn’t disappear, even as she assured him that she was fine. “Still, please get it tended to. For me, at least.”

“I will, I promise.” She turned her head aside and stifled a yawn. 

“How much sleep did you get?” He looked over to the chair that now he could tell had come from one of the drawing rooms. While it was a cozy one to sit and read by the fire in, it wasn’t quite built for sleeping in mind. 

“I don’t know, an hour, maybe two?”

Nate gave the empty side of the bed next to him a pat. “There’s more than enough room here if you want to rest.”

Rowena sat up straighter and gave him a mischievous looking grin that thrilled him down to his toes. “Is that your way of inviting me into your bed, Agent Sewell?”

She had to swallow at the searing look he gave her in return. “Trust me, Detective Kingston,” he said, pitching his voice low, the sound feeling like an invisible caress that made her shiver. “I have a great deal more creative ways to ask you to share my bed.”

“And I can’t wait to hear them all, once you’re fully recovered.” Rowena was grateful for the flirtatious banter that they always seemed to fall into when they were alone. In a way, it was a barometer for telling how he was truly recovering. Kicking off her shoes, she rounded the bed and settled down beside him over the covers. 

“There,” she told him, turning on her side so she could face him. “That way when Adam comes in to check on you, he can’t say that I compromised your virtue  _ too  _ much.”

That earned her a laugh, and it made her spirits lift to see the amused light in his eyes. “Though I’m positive that Farah and Morgan will have something to say about it.”

“Farah and Morgan  _ always  _ have something to say, I’ve learned to either ignore them or shoot back with a naughtier idea than whatever they give me when it comes to you.”

“Good to know that I’m in your naughty thoughts.”

“Oh Nate, while they’re not the only ones, those are some of the  _ best _ kinds of thoughts you feature in.” She snuggled closer, her hand reaching for his. “I  _ am _ glad that you’re feeling better.”

He curled his fingers around hers. “As am I. Give me by this afternoon and I should be back in fighting shape.”

She hid another yawn against his shoulder. “Maybe not fighting shape. How does laying low and maybe spending the rest of the day together sound instead?”

He brought her hand up to his to press a kiss to her knuckles. “That sounds like a brilliant idea.” He turned her hand so he could let his lips linger at her wrist, his mouth quirking up into a small smile as her pulse sped up. “Get some rest, Rowena.”

She made a small noise of agreement as he kept their joined hands close to his chest, his thumb running over the back of hers affectionately. Just having her beside him in his bed, the warmth of her body against his, seemed to dull the still lingering aches and pains to a bearable level. Nate listened as her breathing evened out and she eventually drifted off to sleep.

_ Maybe I’ll let her talk me into watching a movie later _ , he thought, tipping his head so his forehead could touch hers. Rowena had been talking about doing a marathon of some Regency-era miniseries at her place with Farah and Morgan the other day, but apparently her idea had been shot down by the other two in favor of whatever superhero movie had just released. Closing his eyes, he relaxed, letting her presence next to him soothe his senses.

The last thing he felt before sleep overtook him again was Rowena’s hand sliding out of his grasp to rest firmly over his heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I just give Rowena my love for the '95 BBC version of Pride and Prejudice? Yes. Yes I did.


End file.
